Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to explore Australian children's engagement in physical activity and screen time while being cared for by their grandparents.

Method:

Grandparents (N = 1,190) providing ≥3 hours of weekly care to a grandchild aged 3–14 years completed an online survey assessing their grandchildren's movement behaviours while in their care. Descriptive statistics were computed for frequency of engagement in unstructured and structured physical activities, minutes spent playing outdoors, and minutes spent engaged in screen time. Regression analyses were conducted to assess socio-demographic predictors of movement behaviours.

Results:

Playing in the yard was the most common form of physical activity in which grandchildren reportedly participated (77% ‘usually’ or ‘always’), followed by playing with toys/equipment (62%). Few (14–36%) frequently engaged in active transport. Children spent an average of 181 minutes per week engaged in screen-based activities.

Conclusions:

There is an opportunity to improve children's movement behaviours while in grandparental care. Communicating to grandparents their importance in supporting an active lifestyle is warranted.

Implications for Public Health:

Findings highlight the importance of creating environments that facilitate play-based, outdoor activities. Ensuring children have access to play equipment while in the care of grandparents and improving access to and quality of neighbourhood parks may assist with activity promotion.

RAS ID

70141

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

6-1-2024

Volume

48

Issue

3

Funding Information

Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway, 34343)

National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant

National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship (#102549)

PubMed ID

38772840

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

Grant Number

NHMRC Number : APP1194713

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Publisher

Elsevier

Identifier

David Coall

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0488-2683

Comments

Jongenelis, M. I., Budden, T., Jackson, B., Christian, H., Nathan, A., Coall, D., & Glassenbury, E. (2024). Australian children’s physical activity and screen time while in grandparental care. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 48(3), Article 100146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anzjph.2024.100146

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1016/j.anzjph.2024.100146